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CHAPTER XIV MOLLY TELLS THE STORY
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 You can imagine after that disappointment in Philadelphia—it seems an unfeeling way to speak of the death of an old gentleman—how we all turned our eyes and kept them fixed1 on Tony Ford2.
 
Friday night Babbitts told me the hospital had reported he couldn't be seen till Monday. The others were in a fever, he said, O'Mally smoking big black cigars by the gross and Jack3 Reddy gone off to Buffalo4, and Mr. George that scared Ford would slip off some way he'd have liked to put a cordon5 of the National Guard round the hospital.
 
Then came Saturday—and Gee6! up everything burst different to what anybody had expected.
 
It started with Mr. George. Being so nervous he couldn't rest he called up the hospital in the morning and got word that there'd been a mistake in the message of the day before and that Mr. Ford was well enough to see the Philadelphia detectives that afternoon. Before midday Babbitts and O'Mally were gathered in, and while I was waiting on pins and needles in Ninety-fifth Street and Jack Reddy was off unsuspecting in Buffalo, the two of them were planted by Tony Ford's bedside, hearing the story that lifted the Harland case one peg7 higher in its surprise and grewsomeness.
 
O'Mally and Babbitts had their plans all laid beforehand. They were two plain-clothes men from Philadelphia, who had just come on a new lead—the finding of Sammis. When they'd opened that up before him, they were going to pass on to the murder—take him by surprise. If Ford made the confession8 they hoped to shake out of him, the warrant for his arrest would be issued and the Harland case come before the public in its true light.
 
Babbitts had never seen Ford and when he described him to me it didn't sound like the same man. He was lying propped9 up with pillows, his head swathed in bandages, and his face pale and haggard. Under the covers his long legs stretched most to the end of the cot, and his big, powerful hands were lying limp on the counterpane. He was in a private room, in an inside wing of the hospital, very quiet and retired10.
 
When the attendant left and they introduced themselves he looked sort of scowling11 from one to the other. Both noticed the same thing—a kind of uneasiness, as if his apprehensions12 were aroused, and for all his broken head he was on the job, not weak and indifferent, but wary13 and alert.
 
This wasn't what they wanted so they started in telling him the news they thought would please him and put him at his ease. A clue had been picked up in Philadelphia that looked like the mystery of his attack was solved.
 
"In fact," says O'Mally, "a man's been run to earth there that we're pretty sure is the one."
 
Both men were watching him and both saw a change come over him that caught their eyes and held them. Instead of being relieved he was scared.
 
"Have you got the man?" he said.
 
O'Mally nodded:
 
"That's what we have."
 
"Who is he?"
 
"Party called Sammis. Answers to the description——"
 
Before he could go further Ford raised himself on his elbow, looking downright terrified.
 
"Joseph Sammis?" he said, his eyes set staring on O'Mally.
 
"That's it. We tracked him up and found him. But I don't want to raise any false hopes. We were too late. When we got there he was dead."
 
It had an extraordinary effect upon Ford. He gave a gasp14, and raised himself up into a sitting posture15, his mouth open, his eyes glued on O'Mally. For a minute not one of them said a word—Ford evidently too paralyzed at what he'd heard, and the others too surprised at the way Ford was acting16 which was exactly different to what they'd expected. It was he who spoke17 first, his voice gone down to a husky murmur18:
 
"Dead?"
 
O'Mally answered:
 
"Heart disease, angina pectoris. The doctor down there said some strain or effort had finished him. That, as we see it, was the attack he made on you."
 
Then Ford did the most surprising thing of all. Raising his hands he clapped both over his face, and with a big, heaving sob19 from the bottom of his chest, fell back on the pillows and began to cry.
 
Babbitts said you couldn't have believed it if you hadn't seen it—he and O'Mally looking stumped20 at each other and between them that great ox of a man, lying in the bed crying like a baby. Then Himself, being fearful that maybe they'd done the man harm, rose up to go after a nurse, but O'Mally caught him by the coat, whispering, "Keep still, you goat," then turned and said very pleasant to Ford:
 
"Knocked you out, old man. That's natural, nerves still weak. Keep it up till you feel better. Don't mind us—we're used to it."
 
So there they sat, Babbitts still uneasy, but O'Mally, calm and patient, tilting21 back in his chair looking dreamy out of the window. He said afterward22 that he knew that hysterical23 fit for what it was—relief, and that was why he wouldn't let Babbitts call a nurse.
 
Presently the sobs24 began to ease off and Ford, groping under the pillow for a handkerchief, said, all choked up:
 
"How did you come to connect him with me?"
 
"By papers found in his desk—records of a real-estate business you and he'd been in some years ago at Syracuse."
 
"That's the man," said Ford, between his hiccuppy catches of breath, "and he's dead?"
 
"Dead as Julius Cæsar." O'Mally leaned forward, his voice dropping, "You knew he was the chap that attacked you?"
 
Ford, his head drooped25, his shoulders hunched26 up like an old woman's, nodded:
 
"Yes, I lied when I said he was a stranger to me."
 
"Why did you do that?" asked Babbitts.
 
It was just what you might know he'd ask. One of the cutest things about Himself is that he never can understand why anyone, no matter what the provocation27, has to lie.
 
Ford didn't answer and O'Mally, giving his chair a hitch28 nearer to the bed, said kind and persuasive29:
 
"Say, Ford, you'd better tell us all you know. We got the papers, and most of the information. The man's dead. Clean it up and we'll let it drop."
 
Without raising his head Ford said, low and sort of sullen30:
 
"All right—if you agree to that. I was in business with him and I—I—didn't play fair—lit out with some of the money." He turned a lowering look on Babbitts. "That's the answer to your question," then back to O'Mally, "I didn't run across him or hear of him in all this time and supposed the whole thing was buried and forgotten till he came into my room Tuesday night. He was blazing mad, said he'd been waiting for a chance to even up, and had at last found me. To keep him quiet I said I'd give him some money. I had some."
 
"Yes, yes," said O'Mally, nodding cheerfully, "the legacy31 your uncle left you."
 
Ford shot a look at him, sharp and quick:
 
"Oh, you know about that?"
 
"Naturally. Inquiries32 have been made in all directions. Go on."
 
"I hadn't much cash there—a few dollars, but I thought I'd hand him that and agree to pay him more later. He said he didn't want money, that wouldn't square our accounts, and as I went to the desk he came up behind me and struck me. That's all I know."
 
"Did he say how he'd located you?"
 
"Yes. He'd been looking for me ever since I'd skipped but couldn't find me. Then he saw my name in the papers after the Harland suicide. Some fool reporter spoke to me in the street that night and I told him who I was and where I worked. A short while after Sammis phoned up to the Black Eagle Building, heard from Miss Whitehall I'd left and got from her my house address."
 
"Did he say what he was doing in Philadelphia?"
 
"He had some new job there, he didn't say what, but he said he was well paid. That came out in his blustering33 about not wanting my money."
 
There was a pause, Babbitts and O'Mally scribbling34 in their note books, Ford sitting up in that hunched position, looking surly at his hands lying on the counterpane. So far every word he'd said tallied35 with what they already knew. Babbitts was wondering how O'Mally was going to get round to the real business of the interview, when the detective suddenly raised up from his notes, and leaning forward tapped lightly on one of Ford's hands with the point of his pencil.
 
"Say, Ford, how about that legacy from your uncle?"
 
Ford gave a start, stiffened36 up and looked quick as a flash into the detective's face.
 
"What about it?" he stammered37.
 
O'Mally, his body bending forward, his pencil tip still on Ford's hand, said with sudden, grim meaning:
 
"We know where it came from."
 
For a second they eyed each other. Babbitts said it looked like an electric current was passing between them, holding them as still as if they were mesmerized38. Then O'Mally went on, very low, each word falling slow and clear from his lips:
 
"We know all about that money and the game you've been playing. This Sammis business isn't what we're here for. It's the other—the Harland matter, the thing that's been occupying your time and thoughts lately. That outside job of yours—that job that was finished on the night of January the fifteenth." He paused and Ford's glance slid away from him, his eyes like the eyes of a trapped animal traveling round the walls of the room. "We've got you, Ford. The whole thing's in our hands. Your only chance is to tell—tell everything you know."
 
In describing it to me Babbitts said that moment was one of the tensest in the whole case. Ford was cornered, you could see he knew it and you could see the consciousness of guilt39 in his pallid40 face and trembling hands. O'Mally was like a hunter that has his prey41 at last in sight, drawn42 forward to the edge of his chair, his jaw43 squared, his eyes piercing into Ford like gimlets.
 
"Go ahead," he almost whispered. "What was that money paid you for?"
 
Ford tried to smile, the ghost of that cock-sure grin distorting his face like a grimace44.
 
"I guess you've got the goods on me," he said. "I know when I'm beaten. You needn't try any third degree. I'll tell."
 
Babbitts was so excited he could hardly breathe. The Big Story was his at last—he was going to hear the murderer's confession from his own lips. Ford lifted his head, and holding it high and defiant45, looked at O'Mally and said slowly:
 
"I got that money from Hollings Harland for reporting to him the affair between Johnston Barker and Miss Whitehall."
 
If you'd hit him in the head with a brick Babbitts said he couldn't have been more knocked out. He had sense enough to smother46 the exclamation47 that nearly burst from him, but he did square round in his chair and look aghast at O'Mally. That old bird never gave a sign that he'd got a blow in the solar plexus. For all anyone could guess by his face, it was just what he'd expected to hear.
 
"You were in Harland's pay," he murmured, nodding his head.
 
"I was in Harland's pay from the first of December to the day of his death. In that time he gave me eight hundred dollars."
 
O'Mally, slouching comfortable against his chair back, drooped his head toward his shoulder and said:
 
"Suppose you tell us the whole thing, straight from the start. It'll be easier that way."
 
"Any way you want it," said Ford. "It's all the same to me. I first met Harland in the elevator some time in the end of November. Seeing me every day he spoke to me casually48 and civilly, as one man does to another. There was nothing more than that till Johnston Barker began coming to the Azalea Woods Estates, then, bit by bit, Harland grew more friendly. I'll admit I was flattered, a chap in my position doesn't usually get more than a passing nod from a man in his. As he warmed up toward me, feeling his way with questions, I began to get a line on what he was after—he wanted a tab kept on Barker."
 
"Jealous?" O'Mally suggested.
 
"Desperately49 jealous. As soon as the thing opened up before me I saw how matters stood. He was secretly crazy about Miss Whitehall and was easy until Barker cut in, then he got alarmed. Barker was a bigger man than he, and there was no doubt about it that she liked Barker. When he realized that he put it up to me straight. He'd sized me up pretty thoroughly50 by that time and knew that I'd—what's the use of mincing51 matters—do his dirty work for him."
 
O'Mally inclined his head as if he was too polite to contradict.
 
"He offered me good money and all I had to do was to watch her and Barker and report what I heard or saw. It was a cinch—I was on the spot, the only other person in the office a fool of a stenographer52, a girl, who hardly counted."
 
"What was the result of your—er—investigations?"
 
"That Barker was in love with her too. He came often on a flimsy excuse that he wanted to build a house in the tract53. She was friendly at first, then for a while very cold and haughty—as if they might have had a quarrel. Then they seemed to make that up, and get as thick as thieves."
 
"Did she seem to care for Harland?"
 
"Not exactly—anyway not the way he did for her. She was always awfully54 nice to him—the few times he came into the office—gentle and sweet, but not the way she was with Barker. She was two different women to them—with Harland a sort of affable, gracious winner, but with Barker a girl with a man she's fond of, natural, glad to see him, no society stunts55.
 
"A little before Christmas I caught on to the fact that she was receiving letters from Barker, and Harland offered me extra money if I'd get their contents. This wasn't so easy. Generally she took them away with her, but twice she left them on her desk. All I had to do then was to stay overtime56 and when she was gone, copy them. That way I got on to something that phazed us both—she and Barker were up to some scheme."
 
O'Mally moved slightly in his chair.
 
"Scheme?" he said—"What do you mean by scheme?"
 
"Something they were planning to do. After Christmas every time he'd come they'd go into the private office and talk there so low you couldn't catch a word. And the letters were all about it, but we couldn't get a line on what it was. I'll show them to you and you'll see for yourself. It got Harland wild, for though they weren't exactly love letters, they showed that she and Barker were close knit in some secret enterprise."
 
"Did you continue this work till the day of the suicide?"
 
"I did—to the night—to the time it happened. Harland was getting more and more worked up. I don't know whether it was the Barker-Whitehall business or his own financial worries, but I could see he was holding the lid on with difficulty. That day, January fifteenth, as you may remember, he was in her office and had a talk with her. As he went out I saw that he looked cheered-up, brisk and confident. Of course I've no idea what she said to him, but knowing the state he was in, I'll swear it was something that gave him hope. Yet a few hours after that he killed himself.
 
"Seeing him so heartened up and being curious myself, I decided57 to stay that evening and do a little quiet snooping among her papers. But she nearly blocked that game. She was in the habit of going between half-past five and six, leaving me to close up. That night she didn't do it, but hung about in the office, and after watching her for a few minutes I saw that she was on the jump—moving about, going from one desk to the other, glancing at the clock. Her manner made me certain that something was up—it was possible it had to do with the scheme she and Barker were hatching. I got the idea that I'd go and come back after a while, on the chance of stumbling on something that would be useful to my employer. I left her there and after loafing round for about half an hour returned. The office was dark and she'd gone. I lit up and looked over her desk in the Exhibit Room and a table in my room where she kept some papers, but found nothing. Then I thought I'd take a look into the private office but that door was locked."
 
"Ah, locked," said O'Mally, calm as a summer sea. "Was that her custom?"
 
"Not as far as I knew. I'd never found it locked before. It gave me an uneasy feeling for I thought she might have suspected what I was doing and turned the key against any invasion of her particular sanctum. She was no fool and might have caught on. So I fixed up the papers as I found them and left the office. You know what time that was, or you do if you read of the Harland suicide. I've always supposed the poor chap was up that side corridor as I stood there waiting for the car."
 
Babbitts bent58 over his notebook scribbling—he had to hide his face. He told me he thought the expression on it of stunned59, crestfallen60 blankness would have given him away to an idiot. Waiting with their ears stretched to hear a confession of murder—and this was what they got! And the man wasn't lying. Every word he'd said matched with the facts we'd been worming and digging to find. He couldn't possibly have known murder had been discovered—he hadn't any suspicion a murder had been committed. The great revelation, that was to have broken on the public with an explosion like a dynamite61 bomb, was that Tony Ford was Harland's paid spy.
 
"Well," he said, looking at O'Mally, "what have you got to say? Go ahead with it if it'll give you any satisfaction. Only you needn't waste your breath. I know, without being told, that it's a rotten, dirty business."
 
O'Mally, his face as red as the harvest moon, pulled at his mustache looking thoughtful. But, sore as he must have been—you'd have to know O'Mally to realize what his disappointment was—he answered cool and easy:
 
"I ain't got anything to say. It's not my job to train the young. You've told me what I wanted to know—that's all I'm here for."
 
Ford turned to Babbitts and asked him to get some letters off the table and then went on to O'Mally:
 
"How did you come to find it out?"
 
Babbitts, gathering62 up the letters, cocked his head to listen, wondering how O'Mally was going to get out of it. But you couldn't phaze that veteran.
 
"Several ways—you see what we're after is Johnston Barker. It's the Copper63 Pool that owns us, and nosing round in our quiet little way we got on to the Barker-Whitehall affair and from that followed the scent64 to that legacy of yours. We didn't altogether believe in that uncle up-state—thought maybe he was Johnston Barker in private life, and that you might know something," he gave a lazy, good-humored laugh. "Got fooled all round. I don't mind telling you now that the way we happened on Sammis was pure accident. Thought he was Barker and had him shadowed. He looked like enough to him to have been his brother."
 
"That's so," said Ford, as Babbitts handed him the letters, "especially with his hat on. I noticed it myself." He selected two papers from the bunch and handed them to O'Mally. "There—those are the letters I spoke of. This one," he flicked65 it across the counterpane, "is just a note from Harland making a date. I don't know how I happened to keep it."
 
They were the three letters Babbitts had taken after the attack, copies of which at that moment were lying in O'Mally's pocket.
 
It was not till they were out on the hospital steps that they dared to speak. O'Mally's face was a study, his mouth drooped down to his chin and his eyes dismal66 and despairing like he'd come from a tragedy.
 
"Well!" he said, "what do you make of that?"
 
"Zero!"
 
"Not a thing to do with it, hasn't a suspicion of it, no more involved in it than that sparrow there," he pointed67 to a sparrow that had lit on the step near-by. "I've had setbacks in my profession before—but this!" He stopped, stuck his hands into his pockets and stared blankly at the sparrow.
 
"Well, if it lets him out," said Babbitts, "it tightens68 the cords round the other two."
 
"Um," agreed O'Mally, still gazing stonily69 at the sparrow, "that's what keeps your spirits up."
 
"With him eliminated the whole thing concentrates on her and Barker."
 
"It does, my son." O'Mally roused up and came out of his depression. "Instead of a brain and a pair of hands as we've called it, it was a brain and one hand—the smart hand, the right. That was the woman."
 
He turned and began to descend70 the steps, taking Babbitts by the arm to draw him closer and speaking low:
 
"Do you see how it went? They were in the private office when Ford came back—she and Barker and the dead man. When they heard him come they switched off the light and locked the door—and, Great Scott, can you imagine how they felt! Shut in there in the dark with their victim, not knowing who Ford could be or what he was doing, listening to him rummaging71 round, his steps coming nearer, his hand on the doorknob! I'm too familiar with murder to see any terrors in it—but that situation! I've never known the beat of it in all my experience. Then when Ford goes—on his very heels—over and out with the thing they'd killed. And both of them back there again, or maybe stealing to the front windows and taking a look down at the crowd below."
 
They walked up the street arm in arm, talking in hushed voices. As he looked at the faces of the people that passed the thought came to Babbitts that in a short time, maybe a few days, they'd be reading in the papers of the awful crime not one of them now had a suspicion of.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
2 Ford KiIxx     
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
参考例句:
  • They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
  • If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
3 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
4 buffalo 1Sby4     
n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛
参考例句:
  • Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
  • The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。
5 cordon 1otzp     
n.警戒线,哨兵线
参考例句:
  • Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
  • There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。
6 gee ZsfzIu     
n.马;int.向右!前进!,惊讶时所发声音;v.向右转
参考例句:
  • Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
  • Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇!我们会赚好多钱啦!
7 peg p3Fzi     
n.木栓,木钉;vt.用木钉钉,用短桩固定
参考例句:
  • Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
  • He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
8 confession 8Ygye     
n.自白,供认,承认
参考例句:
  • Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
  • The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。
9 propped 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e     
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
  • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
10 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
11 scowling bbce79e9f38ff2b7862d040d9e2c1dc7     
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里,穿着灰色的衣服,漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
12 apprehensions 86177204327b157a6d884cdb536098d8     
疑惧
参考例句:
  • He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
  • But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而,随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。
13 wary JMEzk     
adj.谨慎的,机警的,小心的
参考例句:
  • He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
  • Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头,突然警惕起来。
14 gasp UfxzL     
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说
参考例句:
  • She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
  • The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。
15 posture q1gzk     
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势
参考例句:
  • The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
  • He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣,摆出一副打架的架势。
16 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
17 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
18 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
19 sob HwMwx     
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣
参考例句:
  • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
  • The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。
20 stumped bf2a34ab92a06b6878a74288580b8031     
僵直地行走,跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 ); 把(某人)难住; 使为难; (选举前)在某一地区作政治性巡回演说
参考例句:
  • Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活,然后很艰难地走出房间。
  • He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌,半天说不出话来。
21 tilting f68c899ac9ba435686dcb0f12e2bbb17     
倾斜,倾卸
参考例句:
  • For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他,但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
  • So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以,让我们结束内部间的争吵吧!再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。
22 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
23 hysterical 7qUzmE     
adj.情绪异常激动的,歇斯底里般的
参考例句:
  • He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
  • His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。
24 sobs d4349f86cad43cb1a5579b1ef269d0cb     
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
  • She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。
25 drooped ebf637c3f860adcaaf9c11089a322fa5     
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
  • The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。
26 hunched 532924f1646c4c5850b7c607069be416     
(常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦)耸肩弓身的,伏首前倾的
参考例句:
  • He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
  • Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。
27 provocation QB9yV     
n.激怒,刺激,挑拨,挑衅的事物,激怒的原因
参考例句:
  • He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子,一点就着。
  • They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。
28 hitch UcGxu     
v.免费搭(车旅行);系住;急提;n.故障;急拉
参考例句:
  • They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程,最后决定搭便车。
  • All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。
29 persuasive 0MZxR     
adj.有说服力的,能说得使人相信的
参考例句:
  • His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
  • The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。
30 sullen kHGzl     
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
  • Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐,因为昨晚没睡好。
31 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
32 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
33 blustering DRxy4     
adj.狂风大作的,狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 );咆哮;(风)呼啸;狂吹
参考例句:
  • It was five and a half o'clock now, and a raw, blustering morning. 这时才五点半,正是寒气逼人,狂风咆哮的早晨。 来自辞典例句
  • So sink the shadows of night, blustering, rainy, and all paths grow dark. 夜色深沉,风狂雨骤;到处途暗路黑。 来自辞典例句
34 scribbling 82fe3d42f37de6f101db3de98fc9e23d     
n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • Once the money got into the book, all that remained were some scribbling. 折子上的钱只是几个字! 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字,妈妈看在眼里,就替他报读了幼稚园。 来自互联网
35 tallied 61a1841ec60066b24767ba76be257ac1     
v.计算,清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 );加标签(或标记)于;(使)符合;(使)吻合
参考例句:
  • The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
  • His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句
36 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
37 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
38 mesmerized 3587e0bcaf3ae9f3190b1834c935883c     
v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网
39 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
40 pallid qSFzw     
adj.苍白的,呆板的
参考例句:
  • The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来,照着尸体那张苍白的脸。
  • His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。
41 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
42 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
43 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
44 grimace XQVza     
v.做鬼脸,面部歪扭
参考例句:
  • The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
  • Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。
45 defiant 6muzw     
adj.无礼的,挑战的
参考例句:
  • With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时,仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
  • He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。
46 smother yxlwO     
vt./vi.使窒息;抑制;闷死;n.浓烟;窒息
参考例句:
  • They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
  • We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。
47 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
48 casually UwBzvw     
adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地
参考例句:
  • She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
  • I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。
49 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
50 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
51 mincing joAzXz     
adj.矫饰的;v.切碎;切碎
参考例句:
  • She came to the park with mincing,and light footsteps.她轻移莲步来到了花园之中。
  • There is no use in mincing matters.掩饰事实是没有用的。
52 stenographer fu3w0     
n.速记员
参考例句:
  • The police stenographer recorded the man's confession word by word. 警察局速记员逐字记下了那个人的供词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A qualified stenographer is not necessarily a competent secretary. 一个合格的速记员不一定就是个称职的秘书。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
53 tract iJxz4     
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林)
参考例句:
  • He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
  • He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。
54 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
55 stunts d1bd0eff65f6d207751b4213c4fdd8d1     
n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 );(广告中)引人注目的花招;愚蠢行为;危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长],抑制,妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
  • The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》
56 overtime aKqxn     
adj.超时的,加班的;adv.加班地
参考例句:
  • They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
  • He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。
57 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
58 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
59 stunned 735ec6d53723be15b1737edd89183ec2     
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
  • The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。
60 crestfallen Aagy0     
adj. 挫败的,失望的,沮丧的
参考例句:
  • He gathered himself up and sneaked off,crushed and crestfallen.他爬起来,偷偷地溜了,一副垂头丧气、被斗败的样子。
  • The youth looked exceedingly crestfallen.那青年看上去垂头丧气极了。
61 dynamite rrPxB     
n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)
参考例句:
  • The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
  • The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。
62 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
63 copper HZXyU     
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的
参考例句:
  • The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
  • Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。
64 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
65 flicked 7c535fef6da8b8c191b1d1548e9e790a     
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
参考例句:
  • She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
  • I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。
66 dismal wtwxa     
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
参考例句:
  • That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
  • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
67 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
68 tightens e55beaf60804ecfbd7ab248151f7a970     
收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 ); (使)变紧; (使)绷紧; 加紧
参考例句:
  • One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
  • Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件;用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。
69 stonily 940e31d40f6b467c25c49683f45aea84     
石头地,冷酷地
参考例句:
  • She stared stonily at him for a minute. 她冷冷地盯着他看了片刻。
  • Proudly lined up on a long bench, they stonily awaited their victims. 轿夫们把花炮全搬出来,放在门房里供人们赏鉴。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
70 descend descend     
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降
参考例句:
  • I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
  • We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。
71 rummaging e9756cfbffcc07d7dc85f4b9eea73897     
翻找,搜寻( rummage的现在分词 ); 海关检查
参考例句:
  • She was rummaging around in her bag for her keys. 她在自己的包里翻来翻去找钥匙。
  • Who's been rummaging through my papers? 谁乱翻我的文件来着?


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